The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
John Carroll ranked in preseason poll
John Carroll — 9-2 and Ohio Athletic Conference runnerup to Mount Union in 2018 — checked in at No. 17 in the preseason D3football.com poll with 168 points. OAC champion Mount Union is No. 2.
The John Carroll football team received some preseason attention when the D3football.com preseason Top 25 poll was released Aug. 8.
The Blue Streaks — 9-2 and the Ohio Athletic Conference runner-up to Mount Union in 2018 — checked in at No. 17 in the poll with 168 points.
Last season, JCU earned a spot in the NCAA D-III playoffs, where it was upset at home in the first round by Randolph Macon.
The Purple Raiders will start the season at No. 2 behind defending national champion Mary-Hardin Baylor, which received 624 points and 24 first-place votes. Mount had 599 points and one first-place vote.
JCU returns six All-OAC players, including running back Michael Canganelli, a Mayfield product who had 1,905 all-purpose yards a year ago and scored 19 touchdowns. Also among that group are Lake Catholic grad and linebacker Chad Stalnaker, who led the in tackles with 71, and defensive tackle Conner Bogard (Benedictine), who was a force with 69 stops and 8.5 sacks.
“The sky’s the limit,” said Stalnaker of the 2019 Blue Streaks. “I think we can do anything. We’ve got a great group of guys who love to work hard, love to get better every day. I’m excited for this group.”
Coach Rick Finotti’s team starts the season at home Sept. 7 against Wisconsin Stevens-Point, then after a week off opens its OAC slate on the road vs. Otterbein on Sept. 21 before an anticipated home game Sept. 28 against Mount Union.
“Our biggest thing is we have to win Week 1,” said Finotti. “If we do our best to prepare every day, work extremely hard, make the best decisions as coaches, the best decisions as players and put it into Week 1, it just starts it off.”
The Purple Raiders will be explosive on offense with playmakers throughout their lineup, and all five starters on the offensive line returning. Included is junior running back and Perry grad Josh Petruccelli, who rushed for 1,531 yards and 19 TDs in 2018.
Also earning spots in the “others receiving votes” cat- egory were Case Western Reserve (25) and Baldwin Wallace (20).